NUSTARS - Northwestern University Space Technology and Rocketry Society

Anyone, regardless of academic year or major, is encouraged to join, as this is a diverse organization with interdisciplinary interests and requirements.

NUSTARS is a student engineering organization dedicated to the construction of high-powered rockets, microgravity experiments, and microsatellites for university-level NASA programs. As of the 2016-2017 school year, we have a NASA research team, two rocketry competition teams, and a high altitude balloon experiments team, all of which are looking for students to get involved.

Photos from NUSTARS - Northwestern University Space Technology and Rocketry Society's post

04/11/2025

Pics from our birdwatching trip. If you look closely, you may even spot a rocket!

040525 - Flight Test 2

04/05/2025

DESIGN HIGHLIGHT: Active Drag System! 🍀

From CAD-->Flight, the Active Drag System (ADS) displays the engineering excellence of our team. It modulates the vehicle's drag during coast to achieve the target apogee, using a closed-loop controller to read sensor data and actuate flaps in a cloverleaf configuration.

See it in action tomorrow during Flight Test 2!

03/24/2025

Our rocket's just built different

02/24/2025

Wind. Smoke. Fire. Wind Tunnel Testing had it all (ok maybe not the last one). 🔥

Last week, we sent 3 team members and our full-scale down to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida! Over 6 hours of active testing provided invaluable data to verify our Active Drag System's performance under various wind speeds, pitch angles, and actuation states.

Fun fact: this rocket has now sustained in-flight conditions longer than all the rockets in NUSTARS history combined! 🚀

02/20/2025

Can you guess what this is?? 👀 More pictures coming soon! 🕵🏿

02/13/2025

With 7 of our 8 objectives met, Flight Test 1 was an emphatic success. Antenna deployment, onboard video, ADS burnout detection and flap actuation were just some of the systems that performed flawlessly in Wisconsin last Saturday.

Up Next: Wind Tunnel Testing.

02/01/2025

RASC-AL meetings start this week! 💪🏽 If you're looking for research experience on a world-class NASA project team, look no further! Drop in on a Sunday or Wednesday to meet the leads and find your fit. We're sure you'll love it... to the moon and back 🌝

01/27/2025

NEW PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT 📢
From the METALS team that won the Artemis Award comes a new NASA project: RASC-AL. 🦝 Research will include lunar chemistry, ISRU, habitat configurations, and more! 🔬 Stay tuned for details on the first meeting coming this week! 👀